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Synonym Chooser

How is the word avid distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of avid are anxious, athirst, eager, and keen. While all these words mean "moved by a strong and urgent desire or interest," avid adds to eager the implication of insatiability or greed.

avid for new thrills

When might anxious be a better fit than avid?

Although the words anxious and avid have much in common, anxious emphasizes fear of frustration or failure or disappointment.

anxious not to make a social blunder

Where would athirst be a reasonable alternative to avid?

The meanings of athirst and avid largely overlap; however, athirst stresses yearning but not necessarily readiness for action.

athirst for adventure

When could eager be used to replace avid?

While in some cases nearly identical to avid, eager implies ardor and enthusiasm and sometimes impatience at delay or restraint.

eager to get started

When is it sensible to use keen instead of avid?

The synonyms keen and avid are sometimes interchangeable, but keen suggests intensity of interest and quick responsiveness in action.

keen on the latest fashions

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of avid According to Sparks, Mandel is secretly an avid gamer and was interested in talking about the Global Gaming League — T-Pain, Ne-Yo, Sparks’ and Jeff Hoffmann’s new e-sports community. Mackenzie Cummings-Grady, Billboard, 29 Oct. 2025 On October 11, Grabow, an avid triathlete who took up the demanding athletic discipline at 59, became the oldest woman to ever complete an Ironman World Championship, breaking the previous record set by then 78-year-old Cherie Gruenfeld in 2022. Caroline Tien, SELF, 29 Oct. 2025 During the 2023 offseason, Walker started meditating at the recommendation of former Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander, an avid meditator himself. Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025 He was also known as a singer and avid music fan who especially loved R&B songs from the ‘60s to ‘80s. Stacy Brandt, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for avid
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avid
Adjective
  • Legacy OEMs joined in on the action, as well, with debuts from McLaren and Rolls-Royce drawing crowds eager to get up close and personal or snap a selfie with the latest and greatest.
    Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 4 Nov. 2025
  • While Williams has always kept her love life private, fans are eager to know more about the man who captured her heart.
    Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • According to Nietzel, the increase seems to be driven by a younger demographic, who are generally more open-minded and enthusiastic about treatments, and view it as a form of bonding time.
    Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 29 Oct. 2025
  • China also wasn’t the pushover that the most enthusiastic spy reports suggested.
    Big Think, Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • But Septime Webre’s choreography is supposed to have the air of wild and sometimes frenzied social dancing, of Charlestons and Fox Trots and Black Bottoms, of indulging the glorious excesses of the 1920s before the greedier side of the American Dream comes crashing down a few years later.
    David Lyman, Cincinnati Enquirer, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Which is to say, this isn’t the story of a greedy, materialistic man who suffers a crisis of conscience while trying to pry a priceless treasure away from an uneducated hick who doesn’t know any better.
    David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • No pretending to be too cool to be excited, just vibing and living in the moment.
    Stephanie Sengwe, PEOPLE, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Now Lomax is excited for future opportunities to work with other brands.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Governments have turned to the Kremlin’s private mercenary army, the Africa Corps — formerly known as the Wagner Group — for protection.
    Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2025
  • The protagonist’s diabolical plot is fuelled by an unmanageable tangle of emotions, including raging jealousy, mercenary self-interest, and resentment of Eileen’s professional and intellectual accomplishments, which sparks shame at her own cosseted frivolity.
    Richard Brody, New Yorker, 17 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • In addition to gaining glowing reviews (100 on Rotten Tomatoes, 87 on MetaCritic) and ardent admirers, Joseph’s feature debut won the FIPRESCI Award at Viennale 2025 and shared the Bruce Sinofsky Award in the Documentary Feature Competition at the Montclair Film Festival.
    Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2025
  • And while the Walkman and Discman allowed for on-the-go privacy, even their most ardent defenders would admit that these devices were clunky compromises.
    Jonathan Garrett, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • What Netanyahu wants is not this peace deal or avaricious annexations, but to stay in power.
    Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2025
  • But is better than the alternative of admitting to an avaricious Moscow that Ukraine must accept some kind of defeat.
    Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Though much of the language around clean fashion is aimed at the health of the consumer, experts are keen to stress that benefits for those working in the supply chain should be considered, too.
    Sophie Benson, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Blending the two forms requires a keen eye for visuals and an uncanny sense of the surreal.
    Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Oct. 2025

Cite this Entry

“Avid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avid. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.

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